


Follow My Lead

by ahunter8056



Category: Professional Wrestling, World Wrestling Entertainment
Genre: Angst, Betrayal, Gen, Kayfabe Compliant, NXT - Freeform, Platonic Relationships, War Games 2019 Shenanigans
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-05
Updated: 2020-01-28
Packaged: 2021-02-27 04:41:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 7,246
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22131223
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ahunter8056/pseuds/ahunter8056
Summary: "Role model". That's how Dakota Kai used to think of her old friend, current SmackDown Women's Champion Bayley. But when Bayley returns to crash NXT, the captain of Team Kick takes it upon herself to confront her former mentor. Like the master manipulator she's become, Bayley turns the tables, forcing Dakota Kai to confront a horrible truth. Will Dakota follow her lead, as the former hugger suggests?
Relationships: Bayley | Davina Rose/Dakota Kai | Evie, Dakota Kai/Tegan Nox, Sasha Banks/Bayley | Davina Rose
Comments: 27
Kudos: 32





	1. "Life Sucks and Then You Die"

**Author's Note:**

  * For [AttackPlatypus](https://archiveofourown.org/users/AttackPlatypus/gifts), [BadGoose](https://archiveofourown.org/users/BadGoose/gifts), [RelentlassHuggerSquad](https://archiveofourown.org/users/RelentlassHuggerSquad/gifts).



**_13 th November 2019 - NXT_ **

“Bayley!” No response. “Bayley!”

Taking no notice of the New Zealander calling out her name, Bayley continued her beeline towards the parking lot. Now that she had accomplished what she came to Full Sail to do, it was time for her to get out of the dump she’d once called home.

It was 11 days before Survivor Series, and just moments ago, Bayley had invaded NXT. As one of her opponents at the event, NXT Women’s Champion Shayna Baszler, was standing at the top of the ramp, Bayley had come out of nowhere to blast the unsuspecting champion from behind with a steel chair, before smashing her face into the unforgiving steel ramp.

Anyone who had been paying attention for the past few months wouldn’t have been surprised by the SmackDown Women’s Champion’s behaviour.

For years she’d been a paragon of virtue in the women’s locker room. From NXT, to RAW, to SmackDown.

She’d started off as an innocent girl who just wanted to hug, too blinded by the spotlight to take her place in it. But then she’d been forced to grow up, fighting back against those who took advantage of her. Charlotte Flair, Becky Lynch, even her current best friend Sasha Banks. All had thrown her good intentions back in her face, pushing her until she fought back. Once she had found the confidence to kick ass, she couldn’t be stopped. Forging a dominant NXT Women’s Championship reign, she reigned atop the NXT mountain, fending off the likes of Nia Jax, Carmella, Eva Marie, and Alexa Bliss.

Her eventual dethroning by Asuka wasn’t enough to stop her momentum, propelling her straight to the main roster. Despite her storied rivalry against the narcissistic Sasha Banks, Bayley made her debut at Battleground in 2016, as the fuchsia-haired woman’s mystery partner. With her former enemy’s change in attitude, a deep bond formed between the two women, with her friend eventually helping her to capture the RAW Women’s Championship from her old enemy, Charlotte Flair, in early 2017. Despite successfully retaining her title in a Fatal Four Way at WrestleMania 33, the rest of the year wasn’t too kind to Bayley. After being humiliated, dethroned, and embarrassed at the hands of Alexa Bliss, her success quickly evaporated.

2018 mostly saw Bayley treading water. Although her friendship with Sasha Banks imploded, following betrayals in the first ever women’s Royal Rumble and Elimination Chamber matches, the pair eventually reforged their bond to be stronger than ever before: the Boss ‘n’ Hug Connection. The two set out to be the greatest women’s tag team the company had ever seen. So successful were they in this endeavour, that the Women’s Tag Team titles were introduced in early 2019. Surviving a gruelling Elimination Chamber match, Banks and Bayley captured the titles to become the inaugural champions, holding the titles for 49 days.

And then, Bayley was all on her own. A bitter jealously at not being part of the first ever women’s main event at WrestleMania, Sasha Banks had packed her bags and taken a sabbatical. Even if Banks hadn’t walked out, Bayley was drafted to SmackDown, ensuring that the two would be separated either way. For the first time in years, Bayley had to fend for herself, with no tag team partner, no best friend to watch her back.

If anybody thought Bayley was going to allow herself to fade back into obscurity again, they were sorely mistaken. Realising that it was now or never, Bayley climbed the ladder to retrieve the Money in the Bank briefcase, cashing in later that same night on new SmackDown Women’s Champion, Charlotte Flair. In one fell swoop, Bayley had revitalised her singles career. Not only that, but winning the SmackDown Women’s Championship had resulted in her becoming the first ever women’s Grand Slam winner in WWE history.

Over the next few months, Bayley took it upon herself to act as a role model and leader of the SmackDown’s women’s division. Urging any potential challengers on her new brand to step up, she was dismayed to find that she was facing the same old challengers from RAW, facing Alexa Bliss on two separate occasions, and Bliss’ tag team partner Nikki Cross once.

But then everything began to change. Sasha Banks made her long-awaited triumphant return to WWE, and their paths crossed once more, culminating in sharing the same ring on RAW when Banks showed up to beat down Bayley’s tag team partner, RAW Women’s Champion Becky Lynch, with a steel chair. This time, Bayley had a decision to make. Would she snatch the steel chair out of the grip of her best friend and stop the unjust oncoming onslaught? Or would she choose loyalty over integrity? The self-proclaimed role model chose to show that friendship meant more than the respect of her peers, joining Banks in her heinous assaults on the likes of Becky Lynch and Charlotte Flair.

Despite Bayley starting to incorporate underhanded and cheap tactics in her matches, she continued to insist that nothing had changed. She was still the same old respectable Bayley. But it was clear to all that something had switched behind her eyes. She continued bending the rules, all culminating in losing her beloved championship to Charlotte Flair at Hell in a Cell 2019. This was where Bayley’s psyche began to unravel, throwing a temper tantrum and petulantly voicing the question: “Why does it always have to happen to me?”

The following week on SmackDown, this is where Bayley truly departed from her former self. Showcasing a new haircut before her championship rematch, she massacred her former beloved Bayley buddies. As the inflatable tube men crumpled to the floor, so did any pretence that she was still the same old Bayley. The lie she’d been denying the past couple of months was now out in the open, proudly on display for all to see.

The ex-hugger wasted no time in displaying her new attitude, berating the audience in her championship address. Showing off her bitterness as though it were a characteristic to be proud of, Bayley delivered a morose message to the WWE Universe: “Life sucks and then you die.”

Since then, Bayley had pulled out whatever underhanded tactic she could to both win her own matches, and help Sasha win hers. Although the attack on Shayna Baszler was not exactly unprovoked, with the NXT Women’s Champion ambushing her on SmackDown in the weeks prior, the cowardly manner in which Bayley implemented it was too dastardly an act for anyone to even consider Bayley behaving even months earlier. As much as this type of behaviour was becoming more and more typical of Bayley as of late, it was no less a shock to her peers, to see how much the formerly honourable superstar had fallen. The old Bayley wouldn’t even contemplate such a cowardly sneak attack.

And that brought her back to tonight. Still striding her way towards the exit, proud of what she’d achieved tonight. Still with the Kiwi hot on her heels, relentlessly calling for her attention.

“Bayley!”

Eventually the SmackDown Women’s Champion had had enough, stopping in her tracks and twisting around to lay her eyes on Dakota Kai.

“What do you want?” Bayley demanded in a commanding tone, the snark in her voice leaping out. Her jaw ticked with frustration. She just wanted to get out of this dump, but her old friend was impeding her progress.

If the captain of Team Kick was intimidated by her friend’s cold attitude, she didn’t show it. Truthfully, she didn’t recognise the woman stood in front of her.

“What’s happened to you? You used to be someone all of us down in NXT could look up to; someone who hadn’t let the bright lights and big stage compromise their character,” a disapproving frown coated Dakota’s features, a pang of regret embedded in her voice. Regret for how her mentor had turned to the darkness, just like all the rest. “Now look at you. When did cowardly sneak attacks from behind become your style?”

It truly saddened Dakota Kai to see Bayley fall so far from grace. Back when Dakota had first visited the Performance Center for a tryout match in 2015, then NXT Women’s Champion Bayley had been there to greet her, offer her advice and guidance, when nobody had wanted anything to do with the newbie. Even though as the champion she was at the top of the pecking order, Bayley had taken the time to make her feel welcomed when she didn’t have to - a courtesy she never forgot. Though she didn’t get signed to a contract that day, her and Bayley stayed in touch, a friendship that had continued until Bayley stopped returning her calls and texts, coincidentally around the same time that Bayley had started utilising more underhanded tactics.

It was unnerving how calm Bayley was about the whole thing. In fact she wasn’t just calm, but a malevolent smirk crossed her face, as though being confronted by her friend and accused of corrupting her morals was a laughing matter.

Bayley took a couple of steps forward, closing the space between them until their faces were inches apart. The spiteful smirk never left her face. “At least now you’ve seen what success looks like up close.”

Of all the explanations she could have made, that response was not what Dakota Kai was expecting. The confusion showed on her face, brow creasing in bewilderment. 

“What’s the matter? Is the captain of Team Kick too frightened to keep mouthing off?” In the absence of a retort from the stunned Dakota, clearly Bayley saw fit to keep dominating the conversation, keeping the upper hand.

“Just as I thought,” Bayley gave a light snort in derision. “Quick to judge, with no clue.”

“Of what?” the New Zealander’s eyebrows threatened to raise up into her hairline. Just when she thought she’d finally get answers, her former mentor continued to perplex her. Right now Dakota Kai looked every bit a deer caught in the headlights, and Bayley was ready to pounce like the wolf she’d become.

“You don’t know what it’s like, keeping up a façade, having to pander to the snot-nosed little brats in the audience, hoping that naivety will give you the upper hand over unsuspecting opponents.” Any other tone of voice would sound petulant, but the sneer accompanying Bayley’s accusatory voice kept Dakota’s mouth shut, stuck trying to pinpoint the moment in which her friend had truly changed. Or had she always been this way? Was she telling the truth, and it had all been an act, all this time? No, it couldn’t be!

“Instead you come at me, like the little white knight that you are,” Bayley narrowed her eyebrows, her dark brown eyes taking on a judgementally piercing glare. “Well maybe if you got down from your high horse, you’d actually be able to see that I’m teaching the WWE Universe the cold, hard truth about life.

“And what’s that?” Dakota questioned, her bravado beginning to return to her with a bite to her tone that wasn’t there before.

“Life sucks, and then you die.” Bayley seemed to take a certain glee with her words of wisdom, her tongue poking out as she drew out each individual word, as though she were a snake spitting venom.

Bayley then turned on her heel and began walking away, causing a dumbfounded Dakota to regain her senses, hardening her expression into one of angry disappointment. She caught up to Bayley, reaching out to grab an arm, spinning her around to meet her gaze.

“Is that it then?” Dakota demanded, making sure to match the intensity of Bayley’s icy tone. She allowed her anger to show before softening back to a look of sorrowful and bitter disappointment. “When did you become so cynical?”

“When did you become such a loser?” A malicious smile formed on Bayley’s lips, as she watched Dakota recoil in disbelief. She’d caught the Kiwi right where she wanted her. A hunter cornering her prey.

“What?” came Dakota’s gasped response, momentarily stunned at the hurtful words slung her way by the woman she used to call a friend.

“C’mon Dakota, all you do now is lose. Last week you couldn’t even earn a place on War Games.” The words were harsh, but there was a soft edge to Bayley’s tone, almost as if she felt sorry for Dakota.

Bayley could see the rage brimming in Dakota’s eyes as she scowled and bunched up her nose in aggression. To placate her, Bayley held up her hands before continuing on. “We both know you’re better than this. You’re just too short-sighted to figure it out.” The tone of the former hugger sounded oddly supportive, sounding more like tough love than condescending.

Just when the New Zealand native thought she had her ex-friend figured out as a narcissistic bully, the Latina flipped it around, making it sound like she actually gave a damn. Was Bayley really trying to help out her, admittedly mediocre, career in WWE? No, she couldn’t possibly be gullible enough to fall into that trap. But Dakota could not deny her curiosity, and saw no harm in satiating it. “Meaning what, exactly?”

“How many of your losses came about after your opponents bent the rules?” A disapproving huff left Bayley’s mouth. “But like the goody heroine that you are, you didn’t have the killer instinct to get there first.”

“Yeah? Well maybe I didn’t want to get there,” Dakota retorted defiantly, raising her voice as her emotions began to swell at the insult to her pride.

Bayley could see the anger brewing again, and she knew she had to put a stop to it. “I’m trying to help you here Dakota. You used to have so much potential, and you still do. But at the rate you’re going, you’re never going to get there. Not unless you change your mindset.”

An incredulous snort left Kai’s nostrils, making it clear that she wasn’t buying what Bayley was trying to sell her. It seemed Bayley would need to try harder to talk some sense into her.

“Look at me, I let people walk right over me and tear down the reputation I built right here in NXT. And then when I finally did get back on the horse, I was treated like a second-rate champion. Then I finally unlocked my potential, stepping up with Sasha to become the true role model and locker room leader I was always meant to be. And now we run the whole show.”

Bayley paused to force her words to sink in and grab a foothold on the mind of Dakota Kai.

“You see Dakota, this is a cutthroat business. You have to take what you deserve, because nobody is ever going to hand it to you. Nobody will ever take you seriously unless you force them to.”

Bayley turned to walk away again, but this time Dakota was ready. She shot her hand forward with lightning quickness to grab Bayley’s wrist, bringing her attention back before she could brush her off.

“So what would you have me do?”

Bayley’s eyebrows raised inquisitively. She hadn’t expected Dakota to listen to her so readily. Things were progressing smoother than she had expected.

“Make them regret ever passing you over for a spot on the War Games team,” the SmackDown Women’s Champion narrowed her eyebrows sharply to get her point across, trying to fuel the deep-seated resentment she knew resided within a proud athlete like Dakota Kai. “Start by dropping the deadweight Tegan Nox.”

Nothing had prepared Dakota Kai for the shocking suggestion. She wasn’t seriously considering Bayley’s proposals of course; she just figured it wouldn’t hurt to hear her out. If she had to play along, then so be it. But abandoning the person who mattered most to her? How could Bayley even consider stooping so low? If the tables were turned, Dakota wouldn’t ever dream of suggesting that Bayley abandon Sasha. Surely Bayley understood the parallels there? The horrific surprise was unable to be contained, with Kai keeping her mouth wide open in horror, eyes as wide as saucers, eyebrows having clearly been cleared for take-off.

“But she’s my best friend! Why on earth would I do that?” Having recovered somewhat from the nasty shock, Dakota’s voice bristled with outrage.

“She didn’t look like much a friend to me when she stood by and watched Rhea pass you over for the team without so much as a complaint,” a twisted smirk crossed Bayley’s face, the expression of someone who knew they’d made an irrefutable point. Did Bayley have a point?

No, of course she didn’t. But even Dakota had to admit, Tegan didn’t look too concerned at her best friend’s rejection. Dakota shook her head to clear her thoughts. She couldn’t allow Bayley to get inside her head.

“She knew War Games is bigger than me.”

Bayley let out a scornful laugh, one that made Kai’s blood boil and caused her to clench her fists at her side.

“You keep telling yourself that, anything to cover up the truth.”

Dakota cocked an eyebrow at that, failing to keep the frustration from her voice. “What truth?”

Bayley softened her features, understanding that Dakota was having a hard time coming to terms with the reality around her. The reality she was opening her eyes up to, forcing her to see the truth after living a lie. A reality that would prove blinding at first. A little coaxing might help. “Look, if it was me and Sasha in that situation, and Sasha was rejected from a team I was already on, I would do _anything_ to ensure she was added to that team. Even threatening to walk. Just as I know Sasha would do the same for me.”

Bayley’s gaze intensified, glaring not in anger towards Dakota Kai, but second-hand anger towards Tegan Nox.

“But she did nothing, just tossed you aside selfishly to advance her own career.” Bayley narrowed her eyes accusatorily. “You’re a smart woman Dakota, does she sound like a friend to you?”

Now that she was thinking about it, jaw clenched in anger, Dakota did have to admit Tegan had indeed seemed unconcerned about her best friend being rejected from the team by Ripley. At least Bayley was right about one thing. What if she was speaking the truth this whole time?

But-no! Dakota had to remind herself that Bayley was speaking from a place of shrewd bitterness. No matter how much pent up frustration she already had that had increased exponentially in recent weeks, she couldn’t afford to let Bayley manipulate her. This started out as Dakota reprimanding Bayley for her recent behaviour. How the hell had it morphed into Bayley trying to talk her around to betraying the person she held dearest?

“But, but, but,” Dakota spluttered, buying time to find the words. It was at that point she realised that she could not refute Bayley’s accusation. Her friend _had_ done nothing to help her. But she still held true to her earlier explanation. She could forgive her friend for thinking of the bigger picture. But damnit, didn’t she deserve to at least _try_ to fight for her? Had their friendship really meant so little to cast aside onto the back burner?

“True friendship is so rare around here,” Bayley continued with a sinister gleam in her eyes, prodding further into the mind of her friend after seeing the cogs finally begin to turn. “There are so many who will take advantage of that and pretend to have your back, when they’re really just waiting for the right moment to stab you in it. Those people deserve what’s coming to them.”

Dakota didn’t say anything back, just continued to grit her teeth. She honestly didn’t know how to feel right now. As much as she’d started off with a shield against the bile slung by Bayley, she’d worn her down with some good points. But that didn’t mean she was ready to throw away years of friendship with Tegan Nox.

Seeing that the seed had been firmly planted in Dakota’s mind judging by her tense and confused body language, Bayley was almost ready to leave.

“You looked up to me so much, you saw me as a role model Dakota? Well here’s some advice: follow my lead. Stop trying to impress the WWE Universe. Make every single one of them pay for ever doubting you, double crossing you, or not giving you the respect you deserve. It’s time you stepped up and finally took what’s yours.”

And with those final words of advice, Bayley turned on her heel and walked out of the arena. And this time, Dakota made no effort to stop her. In fact, she barely moved at all. The captain of Team Kick just carried on standing there, staring at Bayley’s retreating form, mulling over the words in her head. Had Bayley been right all along?


	2. War Games

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dakota makes her decision following Bayley's advice. It's the day of NXT TakeOver: War Games.

**NXT TakeOver: War Games – 23 rd November 2019**

**10:37 AM**

On the morning of NXT’s big event, Dakota Kai sat on her hotel room bed, brooding. All week long, her mind had continued to swirl with thoughts. Thoughts that became more tangible and numerous the more that they continued to go round and around in her brain.

Ever since she’d accosted her former friend, SmackDown Women’s Champion Bayley, on her recent turn in behaviour, Dakota had continued to think more and more on her mentor’s words. Bayley had quickly turned the tide, advising Dakota not only to abandon her morals, but to do the unthinkable. The older, much more successful, wrestler had urged her to betray her best friend, fellow NXT superstar Tegan Nox.

When she’d first heard those words spat from Bayley’s mouth like venom from a snake, Dakota had been stunned into a shocked silence. But the more Bayley continued to talk, the more she began to understand that there might be some merit to the former Hugger’s words.

Dakota Kai was a smart woman; she knew Bayley had been trying to manipulate her. But was manipulation really so bad when it was for a good cause?

After all, there was a certain quality to Bayley’s voice that had implied a genuine care and investment in the Kiwi’s career. Until the past few months, the two had been friends. There had been a certain snideness to Bayley’s tone that had gotten under Dakota’s skin at first, but the longer the conversation carried on and Bayley’s voice softened, the more she realised that perhaps Bayley was genuinely trying to help guide her career. She hadn’t necessarily agreed with the tactics her former mentor had adopted, but you can’t argue with results. One way or another, Bayley was achieving results.

If the SmackDown Women’s Champion had been trying to discourage and belittle her, Dakota reasoned that Bayley wouldn’t have tried to give her advice – albeit in a backhanded way.

But even if Bayley did genuinely believe every word she said, does that mean it was the right thing to do? Of course not! At least, that’s what Dakota thought. At first…

However, the more the Captain of Team Kick reflected and replayed the conversation over and over again in her head in the days since, the more she began to see the truth.

Bayley had been right. Tegan Nox had indeed seemed completely unconcerned and indifferent to the notion of her “best friend” being rejected from the War Games team. What kind of best friend just stood by without a care in the world, never even bothering to stick up and support someone she was supposed to care about more than anyone else?

At the time she had told herself that War Games was bigger than her, and she was happy for her friend being given her first big opportunity in the company. But now she realised how hollow that belief was, and she’d been lying to herself. Slowly but surely, her festering resentment towards her best friend had grown throughout the past ten days.

And then she thought back to what Bayley had told her about her career. Dakota had been unsatisfied for her career in NXT for a long time. She had known the whole time that her win-loss record was skewed sharply towards the latter. On the independent wrestling scene she’d been feared as one who’d kick her opponent’s head off. But in NXT, she’d fallen time and time again, losing match after match. And it wasn’t for lack of trying. She’d been scratching and clawing her way up the ranks, but it was like trying to do so underwater in a pool with a glass ceiling over the top. No matter how hard she tried, she just hadn’t been able to break through.

Had Bayley been right? Had her inability to bend the rules been holding her back? After all, a good portion of her matches had been lost because of her opponents breaking the rules behind the referee’s back. Could she have won those matches if only she’d been willing to do the same? Just three days ago, her last match was proof. Kay Lee Ray had defeated her after raking her eyes while the referee’s vision had been obscured. What if she had raked Kay Lee Ray’s eyes first?

All around her, she saw fellow superstars who had abandoned their morals and achieved heightened success because of it. Io Shirai, Finn Balor, Bayley. They all followed the same pattern. Was it time for her to do the same?

Dakota sighed, running her fingers through her hair. Her phone buzzed. She checked the screen, only for her stomach to knot in anger as she read Tegan’s text.

_“Buzzing for tonight!! Hope you’ll be there cheering me on!”_

The Captain of Team Kick clenched her fists in anger, grinding her teeth so hard she wouldn’t be surprised if they shattered. After everything, her best friend had the audacity not only to neglect to offer any sorrow for Dakota not being there alongside her, but to rub her success in her face. It had taken a long time for her to realise just how self-centred and self-absorbed Tegan Nox is. She didn’t give a damn about her, only interested in her own success.

She hadn’t wanted to believe Bayley’s poison. But now she had finally realised that those words hadn’t been poison. They’d been the antidote.

* * *

**5:47 PM – Before the Show**

Dakota Kai had no remorse as she quickly shuffled away from the limp body of Mia Yim, eager to flee the scene before she was discovered. If she was going to follow through with the plan implanted in her head by her mentor, she needed to be on Team Ripley for War Games.

It had been a simple enough matter to decide who she would take out of action so she could step in as a replacement. As the team captain, Rhea Ripley wasn’t an option, as bitter as she was for Ripley’s refusal to add her to the team. Candice LeRae had never done anything to anger or upset her. And of course the whole plan was built around joining Tegan Nox on the team.

That left Mia Yim. The idea of ambushing the Blasian Baddie filled her with a sense of vindication. As far as Dakota Kai was concerned, Mia Yim didn’t deserve her spot on the team. She’d done what to earn her way in? Hit the Horsewomen with a few strikes of a Kendo Stick? Any idiot could have done that. Kai was going to show the world how undeserving Mia Yim really was.

It wasn’t unexpected for her to show up backstage for the event. All NXT superstars were required to be present for all TakeOver events, in situations like the one she was about to create.

Finding Mia all alone in a secluded area of the arena, the blue-haired superstar was busy warming up for her match later on in the night. The match that Dakota Kai was going to ensure she would never get the chance to compete in.

Muffling her footsteps, Dakota inched closer and closer, before nailing a hard forearm right in the back of Yim’s unsuspecting head. Mia cried out in pain as she went down hard. The Captain of Team Kick lived up to her nickname as she continued to lay into Yim with vicious repeated kicks to her upper body, pouring every ounce of anger and aggression into it. Mia continued to yelp as the boots continued to strike her body like there was no tomorrow. The beating continued even after the groans silenced, the thud of Dakota’s boots against Yim’s limp body being the only dominant sound.

* * *

**5:54 PM – War Games Pre-Show**

It wasn’t hard for her to blend into the background. After all, she’d played the part of a goody two-shoes for her whole NXT career. Who would suspect her as the unknown assailant?

This is where her acting ability was put to the test. Conveniently stumbling across the scene with Tegan after numerous officials, Rhea, and Candice had found the unconscious Mia Yim, Dakota feigned her shock, sympathy and worry. And everybody fell for it too. Nobody even considered pointing the finger in her direction at all.

It was with a substantial amount of apprehension in the pit of stomach that Kai watched Mia begin to come to. Although she’d attacked Yim from behind, there was a slight chance that she could have recognised her grunts of effort she put behind her blows.

Eventually Mia’s eyes found Dakota, and time seemed to slow down for the New Zealander. Although she managed to keep it from her face, her heart pounded with panic at the risk of being uncovered. Just because she’d gone through with the sneak attack, that didn’t mean it was easy for her. But what seemed so wrong, felt so right. She held no shame for her actions. But she was still fearful of her cover being blown. If Mia identified Kai as her attacker, her plan for later in the night would be foiled.

Dakota breathed a sigh of relief as Mia broke the eye contact to look at an official who’d just asked her if she knew who had attacked her.

“No, they hit me from behind,” Mia answered before grimacing in pain.

Dakota Kai’s secret was safe.

* * *

**6:22 PM – War Games Pre-Show**

Dakota had continued to wait patiently, feigning empathy as she watched Mia recover for over twenty minutes. It was hard for her to pretend to still be the same old Dakota Kai, when even she knew that she’d changed. She knew her mind had darkened, itching to hurt everyone who had stood in her way. But most surprisingly of all, she found that she just didn’t care. She’d been passed over, pushed aside, and ignored for far too long. Tonight was all about taking control and making a statement to the world.

And so she bided her time as she watched the ambulance arrive. With assistance, Mia was loaded into the back of the vehicle. Seeing her moment to further her façade, Dakota followed after her, one foot in the ambulance interior. Although she did not enter fully, she did everything else she could to make it look like she intended to go with Mia to the hospital. Though she had no intentions of actually doing so.

“You’re the captain. What we gonna do?”

Dakota listened intently to General Manager William Regal pose the question to Rhea Ripley. To everyone else it would have looked like she wasn’t paying attention to the question behind her, but she was. The ambush was purely a set-up for this moment. Everything was riding on Rhea’s decision.

She felt a strong hand tug on her sleeve with enough force to turn around into the face of Ripley.

“You’re in.”

Dakota deliberately twitched her eyebrow in confusion before glancing at Mia, and then back to Rhea before shaking her head. If she was going to convince without a shadow of a doubt that she had nothing to do with the attack on Mia, she would have to pretend as though this hadn’t been her aim all along.

“Dude, no. Like I-I have not prepared for today. You don’t-”

She surprised herself by how easy it was to play the role of the coward. And how easily everyone fell for it.

“Yes Dakota, yes you _have_ been preparing. You want Shayna don’t you? The girl who bullied you for a year.”

No acting was required as she scowled at Rhea’s reminder of what Shayna had done to her.

“Don’t you want your payback?” Rhea raised her voice as Dakota looked down, making a show of looking like she was giving the proposition serious thought. In reality, no thought was needed. She’d already done her thinking in the days before. Rhea then opened her mouth again in a final effort to rile up the Captain of Team Kick. “Tonight-tonight is your night!”

Dakota looked to Rhea with an expression of trepidation, with the Nightmare nodding in encouragement.

“You got this.” Kai looked up into the eyes of her best friend. So now it was finally time for Tegan to speak up? Only when they had no other option but to accept Dakota onto the team? “You know you can do this.”

Yes, of course Dakota knew. But until now, nobody else had. And they only believed in her now because she was the last option. It took everything she had to stop from snapping and beating the hell out of the two right then and there.

“Okay,” she finally accepted the request, nodding with shaky breaths to make it look like she was psyching herself up. In reality, she’d been ready all day. Now her plan was falling into place.

* * *

**War Games**

After all her scheming and planning, the moment had finally arrived. If someone had asked her how she saw her official NXT TakeOver in-ring debut going, she would never have believed she’d be capable of the plan formed in her head. But times had changed, and so had Dakota.

But hearing her music play for the very first time on a TakeOver, her change in attitude couldn’t ignore how surreal the moment felt, especially the roar of the crowd greeting her. For a few moments, it felt like nothing had changed, and she could still be the same Dakota Kai she’d always been. She still had time to change her mind before it was too late.

But then she reminded herself of the fans behaviour. Sure, they were cheering her now, but where were they when she was passed over for the team in favour of Mia Yim? There was no online protest, no WWE Network boycott. Nothing. So while she may continue to pretend to bask in the adulation for the moment, she was done trying to please them and seek their validation. The only validation she’d need after tonight was her own.

For over thirteen minutes, she waited patiently, locked securely in their team’s cage. As members of each team periodically filtered out, she watched as the likes of Bianca Belair, Candice LeRae, Io Shirai, Rhea Ripley, and Kay Lee Ray did battle inside the War Games cage.

The entire time they were in the cage together, Tegan repeatedly made attempts to psyche her up, to try to make passing comments to her. But Dakota refused to listen. Tegan had proven what kind of a friend she was in recent weeks, and it was too late to turn back now.

The past few minutes had become even more brutal, with a trash can and a multitude of steel chairs being introduced. But if they thought that was vicious, they’d seen nothing yet.

As the countdown reached its conclusion, she made sure to position herself itching to escape at the cage bars. The most crucial part of her plan was that she made it out before Tegan.

She finally made it out, and took a liberating few steps forward before stopping. Instead of heading to the ring, she took a moment to stop and think for the last time before the point of no return. Was this really what she wanted to do? Did she want to change her mind?

The insufferable yells of her best friend behind her repeatedly urged her to “Go!” with all the fervour of a pretentious cheerleader. Scrunching her features into a furious scowl of disgust, Dakota knew she’d made the right decision.

Turning on her heel and sprinting back towards the cage, she raised her leg and slammed her boot into the face of Tegan Nox. An audible crunch rang in her ears with the force of the impact. Never had a single kick felt so satisfying. She took a moment to exit the cage and look out at the reaction of every person in the arena. Nobody looked more stunned and hurt by her betrayal than Rhea Ripley. ‘Good!’ Dakota thought. Being outnumbered 2-4 was exactly what Rhea deserved for passing her over.

Entering back into the cage, she grabbed her former friend as roughly as she could by the shoulders, before flinging her again and again against the cold metal of the cage walls. She snarled, taking in the fear, the hurt, the betrayal, the disbelief in Tegan’s eyes. This was a moment she would never forget.

Dakota spent the next minute doing everything she could to cause as much pain to the Welshwoman as she could. Every bit of anger, every bit of frustration, every bit of resentment. She used it all as fuel to unleash on the woman who hadn’t been there for her when she needed her; the woman who had decided that her own success was far more important than their friendship.

Tegan Nox deserved to pay, and Dakota Kai was the woman to make it happen. With this goal in mind, she focused on Tegan’s bad knee. That knee that Tegan had badly injured in the 2018 Mae Young Classic, forcing her out of action for over a year. And Dakota knew exactly where to pinpoint. Not only had they been best friends; they’d rehabbed their respective injured knees together.

She slammed the steel of the cage door again and again against the trapped bad knee of Tegan Nox. Hearing her ex-best friend’s screams of pain was music to her ears. Music that spurred her on to ensure that she heard the same notes again and again, fully consumed in sadistic pleasure. Attacking the protected knee wrapped in a brace wasn’t enough. She forcibly removed the brace before repeating the same actions, Tegan’s shrieks of torment heightened by the amplified waves of pain. When she was finally forced off by the crowd of officials, she held onto the brace, deciding to take it wherever she would go next, as a souvenir and a reminder. A reminder to never let herself be taken advantage of again, and to make anyone who dared try, pay dearly.

So consumed by rage, she didn’t think twice about shoving back William Regal after he tried to restrain her. A crazed look on her face, she darted about menacingly to force the referees to back off.

It didn’t take long for her to agree to leave of her own volition. But just because she was leaving, doesn’t mean she was done just yet.

Duping the attention of the officials, Dakota rushed back out from the curtain, laying into Tegan with a flurry of punches, knowing that she wouldn’t have long before she’d be pulled off. Dakota made every punch count, striking precisely with hurtful intent. Her last opportunity to cause pain to the one who deserved it most.

Having wrapped her limbs around Tegan’s bad leg in a submission manoeuvre, she was finally pried off by Regal, and she realised she’d done enough.

Taking a moment to yell directly at Rhea, Dakota finally relented and left the ringside area. She’d accomplished what she set out to do. After ten days of soul-searching, she finally felt free, like she’d been chained for years, and had finally broke out from her prison. She’d held herself down for years. Now it was time to take what she rightfully deserved. And now she’d freed herself from the burden of Tegan Nox.

* * *

**After the Show**

Fumbling around for her hotel room key, Dakota was shocked to find that she didn’t need it. Her door was slightly ajar. She had definitely locked it earlier.

She briefly panicked, thinking about running to get security, before dismissing the thought from her mind. After what she’d done tonight, after what she achieved, she could handle anyone who wanted to stand in her way.

The door creaked as she pushed it open, before being greeted by a pair of familiar dark brown eyes.

“I couldn’t be more proud.”

She was greeted by the sight of her mentor sitting on her bed, beaming at her with pride that felt genuine.

“Is that what you wanted?” Dakota asked Bayley. “How did you even get in here?”

A third voice answered, one that she instantly recognised. “Being rich has it’s perks.”

Walking further in the room, she spotted Sasha Banks smiling at her, blue hair cascaded down her shoulders. Given that Sasha was a woman who commanded such presence, Dakota realised that the reason she hadn’t noticed Sasha’s appearance instantly, was because she had wanted her to be surprised. Though she didn’t dwell on it for long, Dakota was indeed surprised. She hadn’t expected to be visited by Bayley and Sasha Banks.

“You finally gave that bitch what she had coming to her,” Bayley said with a certain glee.

“And it was damn fun to watch,” Sasha interjected with a mischievous smirk, her malicious side making itself known.

“Yeah well, I didn’t do it for you, if that’s what you think,” Dakota said, making it a priority to set the record straight. “I did it for me.”

“Of course,” Bayley smiled, not seeming to take any offense at all. “I’m sure now you’ll want time to make your mark on NXT. But we’re here to tell you that when you’re done showing the world why they were wrong to turn their backs on you, give us a call.”

“What?” Dakota exclaimed with a snort of disbelief.

“What you did tonight, proved that you have exactly what it takes, just as I knew you had all along,” Bayley elaborated, “I told you that it took me a long time to unlock my potential, well now you’ve unlocked yours. And when the time is right, me and Sasha want you right by our side.”

“Exactly,” Sasha added, “think of what we could achieve together. The money we could make together!”

“Good luck,” Bayley added as her and Sasha began to make their exit. “Kick the head off of anyone in NXT who stands in your way. When you want to make the jump to SmackDown, we’ll be waiting.” Sasha added a wave, and then the pair were gone.

Dakota sank onto her bed and reflecting. In one night, she’d liberated herself, and gain vindication over her backstabbing best friend. And now with Bayley and Sasha making her an offer to join them? Her future had never looked so bright.

But first, she had some heads to kick in NXT.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading! This was a really fun story to write. If anyone wants to continue based off of that ending, be my guest.
> 
> Pretty proud of writing this whole chapter in one day. Felt inspired, and felt I had to get this out in time for Dakota Kai VS Tegan Nox on NXT tomorrow.
> 
> Please let me know what you thought in the comments! If you enjoyed it, please consider leaving a kudo.
> 
> Thanks! :)
> 
> \- HunTAH

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! If you enjoyed, then please consider leaving a comment and a kudo. Let me know what you thought, any particular lines that stood out, anywhere you think the story could go. Even if you didn't like, don't be shy about telling me what you didn't like.
> 
> A thank you has to go out to AttackPlatypus for inspiring this work through his Bayley/Dakota heel snippets on his Tumblr (https://attackplatypus.tumblr.com/post/190026514079/the-heel-adventures-of-bayley-and-dakota-episode), and then suggesting that I write this whole scenario. 
> 
> For this version of Bayley, I took inspiration from BadGoose's genius portrayal of a commanding Bayley in his absolutely incredibly story 'Falling Never Felt So Good'. If you somehow missed it, I cannot recommend it enough.
> 
> And this story is also dedicated to RelentlassHuggerSquad, for being such an awesome, hugely supportive friend. She's dedicated so many of her fics to me, it was only fair I eventually returned the favour.
> 
> Feel free to find me on Twitter @ahunter8056
> 
> \- HunTAH


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